Yet Another Fortune
by toffy346
Summary: Two completely different men are united with the help of a falling book, romantic shop assistant and a very sneaky business card. Written for a "Lost number in a bookshop" AU prompt, found on Tumblr.


All circumstances were in favour of Merlin's trip to the bookstore. He needed something new to read, since his fingers touched every single book at home and he hated going to libraries. Merlin liked the idea of owning the book and getting back to it whenever he wanted, rather than having to return it.

The weather was fine; dazzling sunlight of spring, that doesn't turn your skin into chocolate, once you step outside; light wind, swaying young tree branches with gentle leaves.

One more reason to go and buy a new book was the end of Merlin's work project. By the end of this tiring half a year business, he was happy to know he had some cash for himself. It wrapped up the decision and Merlin exited his house, seizing the backpack.

It wouldn't have been Merlin, if he hadn't managed to get himself into trouble during the ten minutes walk. He bought a hazelnut ice-cream at the cart with a young dark haired woman in charge. In an instant cold mass printed itself on Merlin's T-shirt, leaving some particularly nasty large spots, and dropped on the ground. Most certainly the ice-cream lady had to notice it and giggle at the clumsy man. He apologized and quickly walked away, patting on the spots with a napkin.

He hoped that the bookshop assistant, who was Merlin's friend and seemed used to all the troubles he got himself into all the time, wouldn't throw him out of the shop, considering him a danger to all books possible. He entered the store and a small bell notified the shop staff about a new customer with a loud tinkle.

"Merlin", said Gwen, a woman with dark curly hair, sparkling eyes and a friendly smile. She looked at her friend, shook her head and offered him some more napkins to get rid of the white spots. "What's happened to you this time?"

"Ice-cream", grumbled Merlin, accepting the napkins and wiping off the liquid. "Sorry, perhaps, I shouldn't have come like this here."

"No problem, just don't hug the books," smiled Gwen. He grinned at her and threw the napkins in a trash bin.

"So, how can I help you?"

"I think I wouldn't mind some books. Obviously. I mean, something new. Maybe, fantasy?" explained Merlin, waving his hand and gesturing round the bookstore.

"Sure. I can bring you that book you keep postponing buying," Gwen disappeared among the book rows. Merlin's eye was caught with some new editions on the "New Arrival" shelf and he stepped there, picking some books, flipping through the pages and returning them back. As he opened a dark coloured book with constellations on the cover, he noticed something sticking out of it. He pulled it out. The "something" turned out to be a business card. Merlin carefully looked around in search of a possible owner, when he saw Gwen, coming up to him.

"Found something?" she asked. Merlin shook his head, but when he looked down and saw the book in his hands, as well as the business card, it slipped out and fell on the floor with a loud thump. Merlin bent down to pick the book up and hurriedly swept up the business card. As the young man straightened up, he faced Gwen, his cheeks flushed. She asked again, "An interesting book?"

"Yeah," he said, hastily hiding the card in his pocket. Merlin might have looked too unusual, as when he looked back at Gwen, she seemed slightly confused and concerned.

"Are you alright, Merlin?"

"Yeah," he repeated and gave her one of his brilliant wide smiles and she relaxed.

"Poor book, it fell down the second time today," said Gwen, pulling the book out of Merlin's hands and placing it back.

"Really? Who dropped it the first time?" as casually as possible asked Merlin, glancing at the shelf.

"Some guy was here in the morning. A very handsome one," Gwen winked at her friend and walked back to the counter.

"What did he look like?" asked Merlin, concluding that his curiosity will be the death of him.

"Oh, well. He was tall with fair hair, blue eyes and broad shoulders. Not your type, I dare say," Gwen nodded knowingly. She knew only too well that Merlin's tastes were with other types of men, even if he never accepted he had a type at all.

"No, probably not the one I would like," he grinned. "You know, I'd better head back home and deal with this."

Merlin pointed at his T-shirt.

"Come by later then," waved the young woman and watched Merlin leave the store hurriedly.

* * *

Arthur couldn't believe it, but he needed to go to a bookshop. He was used to ordering whatever he needed on the web or at least sending someone to get it for him. Arthur was far too busy to go to bookshops before work, but he knew his sister would rip him apart, if he didn't bring her the book. It was all Morgana's fault, he thought, with her stupid hairdresser's appointments and inability to do things in time. And, of course, the shut down wi-fi was her fault too, even if she wasn't at home when it happened.

"A favour, do me a favour, she said," muttered Arthur under his breathe, heading towards the bookstore. It was right round the corner and Arthur could already see a massive brass sign. He walked inside, paper smell getting into his nose. A young woman came up to him at once, holding several books in hands.

"Good morning, can I help you?" she said in a friendly tone.

"Yes, please. I need, er..." Arthur furrowed his brows and pulled out a pad of sticky notes, on which was written the name of the book. "Right, I need "Say No To Death" by Dymphna Cusack. Do you have it?"

"Let me see. Just a second, please," said the woman, whose staff badge said "Guinevere". Arthur stepped to the counter, pulling out his wallet. As he was studying endless shelves of books, magazines and writing supplies, his gaze fell upon a shelf with newly arrived books. They all had bright aggressively coloured covers and Arthur wondered where have the times of old dark books gone. Looking around, the young man stepped towards the shelf.

As he started picking out various books, all the thoughts about that day's meetings, contracts and troubles disappeared from his mind. He couldn't help grinning. Some names were acceptable, but the "Queen Of My Imagination" made Arthur snort. He looked through the edition. In Arthur's opinion the future of modern literature was in danger unless someone took reign in their hands.

While Guinevere searched for the needed book, Arthur dismissed some more books with ridiculous titles and horrifying covers. Another book, with a deep purplish-blue colour caught his attention. "Yet Another Fortune", said the title. Arthur grinned and flipped it open. It turned out to be a book of home and party tricks with guessing the cards, flipping coins, joke fortune tellings and other silly party activities. Arthur released the air loudly through lips. How could people even be interested in that? He looked at some more pages. Card jokes, rope illusions, pick-up tricks… Arthur quickly flipped back to the named page.

"Now that is something useful," whispered Arthur. He had already forgotten the main purpose of his bookshop visit and Guinevere was still nowhere to be seen, so the young man decided to spend some time and probably read something helpful in his flirtatious adventures. Not that he was a lady's man, seeking their attention every now and then. He was still getting over his last relationship, that ended badly with fighting, shouting and a whole office scandal. Right now he thought that some ideas from the book might help him when he finally feels ready to step in new relationship.

But his plans weren't destined to end successfully.

Arthur greedily read the first paragraph of the chapter, pressing his hand with his walled to the cover, just as Guinevere returned with the requested novel. She curiously glanced at the customer, whose eyes were glued to the text, and coughed.

"Pardon me," she said with a regretful smile and waved with a book. "I have found what you asked for."

Having not expected anyone to come up, Arthur let the book slip out of his hands and land on the wooden floor along with his leather wallet. Several business cards fell out of it and spread around. Gwen and Arthur both kneeled to pick them up.

"I'm sorry, I have startled you," Gwen apologized, as they straightened back up, and she held out the collected cards.

"No, it's nothing, I should be more careful," mumbled Arthur, pretending the book he was reading fell out of the shelf and it wasn't he, who pulled it out to read. He slowly placed it back, noticing that something was now sticking out of it but felt too embarrassed to check. Gwen nodded and placed "Say No To Death" on the counter. As Arthur quickly paid for the book and stormed out of the store, cursing Morgana and her hairdresser, alongside the university literature studies, he hadn't noticed that one of his business cards went missing.

* * *

As Merlin slowly made his way back home, bookless and ice-cream stained, he stared at the business card, held tight in his hand. It was a simple card, black and white with a small colourful logo of a castle and the company name "Camelot Industries". He'd never heard of them before, but he assumed that it was a big company.

Drowning in assumptions and imagining the owner of the card, Merlin entered the house and walked through the hall into the kitchen, where he sat on the nearest chair. His mother was at the stove, slowly stirring something steaming in a pot.

"Merlin! I started wondering where you've gone," she said with a motherly smile. As she looked at her son, who seemed not to have heard her, she came closer. "Merlin? Are you okay?"

"What? Oh, mother, yes. I am," he quickly smiled at her, stuffing the card in his jeans' pocket. "I went to the bookshop."

"Good for you. But what has happened to your t-shirt?" said Hunith, pointing at the fat spots on the cloth.

"Ice-cream disaster," smiled her son. "I'll wash it."

"I hope so," replied Hunith and ruffled Merlin's hair. As she returned to cooking, Merlin carefully pulled out the card and looked at it again. The contact was named Arthur Pendragon, CEO. Merlin swallowed. Would he be brave enough to call, just out of curiosity? His fingers tapped on the phone's screen, but Merlin hadn't managed to type the number. His mother placed a steaming meal in front of him and for some minutes the stranger's business card was forgotten.

* * *

Friday night promised to be one of the most boring ones. Hunith was working a shift at the restaurant, so Merlin planned a night out with Gwen, maybe visiting the bowling club or going to the cinema, but she had been invited out by some fellow, who Gwen fondly called Lance. Therefore Merlin was left alone at home with a beer can and some old movies to watch. It was only 8PM and he hoped that one of his friends would be suddenly free. But everybody seemed engaged elsewhere, even Will, his childhood friend, seemed to have a date to spend time with.

As Merlin made another gulp of beer, his mind wandered to the business card, hidden in his room. He went to take it and returned to the sofa. The card had already been slightly crumpled, because Merlin couldn't stop holding it, looking at it and turning it over for any phantom clues what the owner was like. The features, given to him by Gwen, weren't enough to make a reasonable impression. There was just one thing left to finally settle the matter between him and the book-dropping stranger. Merlin's shaking hand stretched out to the coffee table to grab the phone.

* * *

As Friday night wrapped London with dark sky and buzzing streets, full of walking companies, Arthur finally arrived home from the office. He was so glad the week was over, that he didn't even join his friends in a pub, craving for peace, beer and as little people around as possible. This exhausting week Arthur met about 5 potential clients, signed several exceptionally important contracts and argued with his father yet again. In Arthur's opinion it was way too much for one week. He also thought that law should define how many people can get on your nerves maximum per week. One or two should suffice. And this silly bookstore encounter had still been troubling Arthur's mind. He buried his face in the pillow, feeling his cheeks flushing. He couldn't understand why he felt this way. After all, many people drop things from time to time, even if those things were silly books such as he stared in. And yet…

A phone call broke the silence.

Arthur was tempted to ignore it, but it could be an emergency call and he wasn't

sure the company could stand his absence.

"Hello?" he mumbled, still lying on the pillow and stuffing the phone under his ear. His greeting was followed with no reply, he could only hear someone's breathing. Arthur raised his head to look at the phone screen to make sure he was actually talking to someone.

"Er..." finally said the stranger on the other side of the phone and added uncertainly, "Arthur Pendragon?"

"Yes? Who is this?"

"Uhm, no one," quickly said the male voice and fell silent again.

"Right. No one," said Arthur, being at a loss of words to such a strange person. He sat up and leaned back on the pillow.

"I uhm… Found your business card in a bookshop," confessed the voice, and Arthur felt his face and neck turn deep red. He covered his face with a palm.

"Why would you call me anyway? Not that I need this card returned, you know," he asked through the fingers on his lips. There was a pause.

"I'm bored."

Arthur couldn't help but laugh at the statement. That was a promising beginning.

"So you got bored and decided to bother someone?" he said.

"Sorry. Yeah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called..." uttered the voice, but Arthur cut him off.

"No problem. At least tell me your name?"

"It's Merlin," the young man introduced himself.

"Okay, Merlin. Nice to meet you. I'm Arthur, obviously."

"Yeah, I figured."

Another pause. Arthur looked at the screen again to check if the calling person was still on the line.

"You know, I really shouldn't have called. I don't know what I have been thinking about."

And the call was dropped before Arthur could mention he didn't mind it at all.

* * *

"A disaster," said Merlin, his head dropped on arms on the table. "I am a shy idiot."

He and Gwen were sitting at a small table in a coffee shop. Merlin had shared a story of a failed phone call with his friend. Gwen had a double cappuccino in front of her and a half eaten cake next to it. A waiter lowered a Grande Latte in front of Merlin.

"You are not," said Gwen, gently ruffling Merlin's hair. He looked at her.

"I have no idea why I even called him."

"Maybe it's a fate? Such things don't happen without a reason from above," happily assumed Gwen, picking up some cappuccino foam with a spoon.

"You read too much, Gwen. Such things don't happen in reality," teased Merlin, wrapping his own coffee cup with both hands.

"We are the masters of our fate. Why don't you call him again?"

"I think he doesn't want to hear me one more time and he was quite embarrassed even then," said Merlin, pulling his phone out and looking thoughtfully at his friend. Gwen leaned closer.

"Come on, you don't know for sure unless you ask. It's Saturday, you can even meet today. You could invite him here!" exclaimed the woman, waving her spoon. Merlin covered himself from the drops, flying in all directions.

"No, I am not inviting him anywhere. Probably. Not right now anyway," murmured Merlin. "Tell me how your date with this Lance went instead?"

And as Gwen set off in describing the wonderful, romantic, thoughtful, polite, Lance, the subject of Merlin's failed call was dropped.

* * *

The moment Arthur's head touched a pillow, his phone buzzed. The young man stretched his hand out and grabbed the phone. Merlin's name glowed on the screen.

"Is there some other time zone in London that I am not aware of?" asked Arthur, lying down.

"Sorry, I thought you might not be sleeping yet," Merlin apologized. Arthur smirked and rubbed his eyes.

"Don't worry, I can stay awake for a little bit longer."

"Good. Er, in fact, I wanted to ask you. Invite you, actually," hurriedly said Merlin. Arthur's brow arched.

"Invite me?"

"Yeah. You know, night out. Maybe you fancy beer in some pub?"

Arthur wanted to object and remind this strange guy that it's 11PM and most people sleep at this time, but he didn't. After all, not all people sleep at that time. And since it was a Saturday night, he was made even more sure of it.

"Okay, where do you want to meet?" Arthur felt horrified with his own bravery and stupidity - going out with a weirdo from the phone at almost midnight!

"How about "The Rising Sun"? Do you know it?" Merlin's voice sounded more confident now, as he was accepted.

"Yes, sure. Meet you there in half an hour?" asked Arthur, getting out of his bed and snatching the trousers from the chair at his bedroom desk.

"Yes. Er. See you later," replied Merlin and hung up the phone before Arthur could ask him how they would recognize each other.

* * *

Merlin nervously hammered on the wooden table surface. Two pints of beer stood in front of him, golden liquid with thick white foam. Every now and then the pub's door opened, letting in more and more visitors, loud companies and lonely men, searching for some rest after a long week. Merlin's head kept jerking as he was waiting for Arthur to appear.

As he made a sip from his large glass, the door opened once more and a man came in. His eyes were wandering around the pub, looking for someone. Merlin swallowed as the stranger seemed the very person he was looking for. He fit in the description of "a man with fair hair and broad shoulders", as Gwen kindly described. Merlin felt something moving in his stomach. He assumed it was his heart, trying to hide.

The young man at the doors seemed to have noticed Merlin and two lonely pints next to him, as he carefully made his way towards the table. Merlin was making a particularly large sip of beer, when the man spoke.

"Merlin?" Arthur asked. Merlin nearly dropped the glass, beer foam splattering down his T-shirt.

"Yes. Merlin, me," he coughed, stretching out his hand. Arthur shook it and dropped on the chair in front of his new acquaintance. Merlin felt so flustered, that he didn't even dare to touch his beer again.

Arthur was watching him carefully. He moved his glass closer and made a sip, his gaze transfixed on Merlin.

"So, Merlin..."

* * *

As the night continued, Arthur realised he was quite enjoying himself in company of this strange, clumsy and extremely shy guy. Extremely handsome too. They drank beer and talked of everything. Arthur told Merlin about his work in Camelot Industries under the reign of his father, and Merlin relayed some details of his science work to Arthur. As their glasses had about quarter left, the conversation flowed into the reason of their meeting.

"It was my first visit to the bookshop after uni and this happened," grinned Arthur. Merlin's lips stretched in a brilliant grin.

"I often go there. I love books. And Gwen is my friend."

"Gwen?"

"Oh, the staff member. She told me about you," added Merlin. Arthur nodded, acknowledging his memories. So this girl, Guinevere, and Merlin were friends. No bigger coincidence could happen.

"When I dropped the book, she said someone else dropped it too. And so she told me about you. And you turned out to be the one, who left the business card in the book," Merlin told him, pulling out the card out of his inner pocket and putting it between them. Arthur looked at his card, which now was crumpled in several places.

"I haven't left it on purpose. It accidently stayed there, when I dropped the book and my wallet," confessed Arthur. Merlin mumbled something, distantly sounding like "maybe Gwen was right".

"Right about what?" asked Arthur, watching Merlin's cheeks redden. He lowered his head and made another gulp of beer, hiding his eyes.

"Gwen said that it could be fate," finally said he in a hushed voice. Arthur chuckled, but said nothing. A memory of a book cover appeared in his mind. "Yet Another Fortune", how convenient.

* * *

Merlin smiled stupidly in his pillow. He was just back home, sleepy and reckless, after meeting Arthur. They stayed in a pub for another hour, drank more beer and made up jokes about modern literature. They left the pub together but without any fixed dates of the next meeting.

Merlin slipped into dreams, failing to hear his phone buzzing.

The next day he walked to Gwen's store, which worked only a few hours on Sunday. His destination was decided when he found at least twenty messages on his phone from Gwen early in the morning. Apparently she found something interesting and needed him to come over this instant. Merlin entered the shop, feeling light shiver inside, hoping to see Arthur inside. Instead he was met with loud exclamations from Gwen.

"You will not believe it! It's so funny!" she squeed, pressing a book to her chest.

"Hello. What is it you have found?" asked Merlin, coming up to his friend. To his horror it was the very book, where he found Arthur's business card. Evidently having read Merlin's face expression, Gwen let out a victorious "yes!" and grinned broadly.

"Yet Another Fortune," Merlin read the title aloud and once again felt his face grow red. No wonder Gwen was so excited as her supposition about fate seemed to be true.

"If you two actually get together, I'll use this book for further matchmaking," stated Gwen, placing the book carefully back on its place.

"Us, together? I doubt it. We did have a nice conversation at the pub, but nothing more," said Merlin, clearly understanding that he was lying. Personally, he enjoyed that evening very much and didn't mind repeating it. Gwen looked at her friend in amazement.

"So you've met? And you haven't told me!" she hit him lightly on the upper arm. Merlin rubbed it and punched her shoulder in return.

"When could I? You have been squeeing so much that I couldn't insert a single word. It's happened only last night anyway," said Merlin. Gwen gave him an expectant glance.

"What are you looking at me like that for? Nothing special. We had beer, talked about work and discussed the downfall of literature," Merlin described his night, struggling with a wide grin, dangerously appearing on his face.

"Come on, tell me. Is he nice? Did you like him?"

"Perhaps, he is my type in the end," said Merlin with a soft and content smile.

* * *

"According to Gwen, we are "very-very adorable". What do you think about it?" asked Merlin, landing on the bar stool next to Arthur. He pushed a beer glass towards Merlin.

"I think that she is misled in her assumptions and needs to take another look at us," replied Arthur, wagging his finger. Merlin grinned and nodded.

It was three months later, the same pub, busy Friday evening. Arthur met Merlin there at least twice a week, where they shared stories and events from the past days and of their lives. Arthur was surprised at how easy he and Merlin got along. The young man had never considered himself a very communicative person unless it concerned his business. He never faced a trouble in conversations with his business partners and had enough friends to fill the social need. But Merlin above all people seemed the most unlikely person Arthur would connect. A shy smart guy with an average job, still living with his mother. And yet Arthur found something about Merlin. Maybe it was about his deep blue eyes and handsome elegant hands. Perhaps, it was his unshaved sharp chin or messy black hair; or about his wit and jokes, when he was relaxed. Arthur didn't need to put on a show in front of him.

"Hey?" Arthur felt someone gently patting his arm. He turned and saw Merlin, his long fingers wrapped around Arthur's arm. They felt hot, yet their grip was light. "You alright?"

"It's okay, just thinking."

"Must have been a hard week?" asked Merlin. Arthur agreed with a nod.

"My father thinks his day is not complete if he hasn't found a fault in the way I work," grimly said Arthur, making a sip from a half-filled glass. Merlin squeezed his arm.

"Come on, it's Friday, you don't need to worry about it right now."

"No, and I won't," smiled Arthur, pushing out troubling thoughts out of his head. He didn't want to think of a failing contract, nor wanted he to spend his pleasant evening with Merlin in worries. And to brighten up his mood even more, Arthur noticed that Merlin didn't hurry to put the hand off of his arm. And he didn't mind it at all.

He had already spent a lot of time, thinking of his friend. He was wondering if this book, the "Yet Another Fortune", was destined to bring them together.

* * *

Merlin pushed the pub door open and stepped outside, deeply breathing in fresh night air. Arthur followed him out and two friends set off for a walk along the road. There were many people around: couples, companies and families. Merlin felt Arthur's arm brushing his, as they walked side by side, hands hidden in pockets.

Whenever they met, they usually walked to Arthur's car; he would drive Merlin back home. This time, however, Arthur suggested to walk a bit longer. Merlin agreed and the two of them went past Arthur's car.

Soon they found themselves sitting on a cold bench, facing the river. Merlin was telling something from his and Gwen's past, some story about a failed party and an old lady, scared of balloons they popped. Merlin noticed that Arthur was unusually silent, though he laughed quite sincerely. He looked at him with a brilliant grin. Arthur returned only a weak smile.

"Is everything okay?" asked Merlin, feeling the smile, fading off his face.

"Yeah," simply said Arthur and the corners of his mouth twitched. "I am thinking."

"You are thinking too much tonight, mate, I am getting worried about your mental state," chuckled Merlin and received a punch from the side.

"I am serious, you idiot."

"An idiot, that's me."

"Stop it," laughed Arthur. Merlin gave him a warm look. Arthur stared back at him and continued, "I really am serious. I thought. I was thinking..."

Merlin found it strange, seeing his confident friend mumbling like this. To his amazement he felt warm fingers entwine with his own, and he looked down to stare at Arthur's hand, holding his own tightly.

"I was thinking we could see each other more often, than just an evening or two a week."

Merlin looked up at Arthur with his lips slightly opened. His hand was still clutched in his friend's and Arthur was swaying it up and down as he spoke.

"Yeah. We could get to know each other better. You know, not over beer and after tiring days. Any time. Almost any place would suffice. I don't agree to meet you in Mc..."

He failed to continue his rambling, as Merlin leaned and pressed his lips to Arthur's. Arthur leaned closer and Merlin felt his lower lip caught between Arthur's, a warm and unusual feeling spreading inside him. Merlin stretched out his hand and placed it over Arthur's cheek, tilting his head to kiss every single spot of Arthur's lips.

* * *

Gwen wiped off the dust from the shelf. It was afternoon and not a single visitor dropped by, except Mrs. Denny, who came every day for her newspapers. Guinevere folded the dust cloth and left it under the counter, sitting down to stare out of the window. The moment she settled down, the door opened and the doorbell rang. To Gwen's surprise, Arthur stood in the doorway, a small bouquet in his hands.

"G'morning," he greeted her. Gwen stood up and smiled at him in awe. Just yesterday she met an unusually happy and silent Merlin, whose face went red at any mention of his friend.

"Good morning, sir."

"This is for you," Gwen watched Arthur hand her the bouquet with a smile. She took it carefully, unable to move to find a vase, and stared at Arthur.

"What for?" she asked with a foolish confused smile. Arthur laughed.

"Let's say, you run a very useful shop," he nodded with a meaningful look.

"You and Merlin..." she started but was cut off by Arthur.

"Me and Merlin, right," said Arthur. His gaze fell on the book, that lied on the counter among other publications. He poked it with his finger. "This is a good book."

"Is it?" chuckled Gwen, picking it up.

"Yes. It definitely brings yet another fortune," said Arthur. His words were met with a happy giggle from a romantic bookshop assistant, who gently patted the book.


End file.
